How the community s vision grew from a handful of students to the cornerstone of the region s health. Making it happen

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1 Celebrating 40 Years How the community s vision grew from a handful of students to the cornerstone of the region s health 18 EVMS Magazine Issue Tom Hubbard, MD, JD, (MD 76) remembers his interview to become a member of EVMS inaugural class. I was extremely impressed with the people I met, he says. The degree of enthusiasm was totally infectious. It was apparent that the entire community was behind the school and rooting for it to succeed. Today, Dr. Hubbard directs the Sentara Center for Simulation and Immersive Learning at EVMS. Forty years ago, he and 23 classmates walked into a converted nurses dormitory to begin their medical studies. Three art-therapy students also started at that time and were the first EVMS graduates. But in the years leading up to the long-awaited opening day, at times it seemed this homegrown medical school might never materialize. Making it happen Forward-thinking community leaders concluded that the solution to the region's shortage of doctors was a medical school, so they approached the legislature for permission to build one. The Norfolk

2 Area Medical Center Authority was born, attracting top-flight physician-educators and making possible a physical and occupational therapy institute, a research institute and a cardiac center, where the region s first open-heart surgery was performed. In 1969, 35 public-service-minded citizens were named co-chairs of a capital campaign and charged with raising the $15 million needed to open the school. The campaign began in January 1970 with an estimated completion timeframe of six months. It took three years. Organizations big and small supported the school. But the campaign ultimately succeeded because people from all across the community pitched in. A child even donated his piggybank to the cause. Today, Clinton Crews, MPH, works for the school he helped establish as Director of the Master of Surgical Assisting Program. A dream realized Forty years after EVMS opened, the region is reaping the benefits. Four times as many doctors per capita practice locally as compared to the 1960s, and the school has become a vital economic engine in the region. Find out more about the first 40 years of EVMS as well as the community effort that brought the school to life at EVMS Magazine Issue

3 March 1964: The Virginia legislature creates the Norfolk Area Medical Center Authority and empowers the authority to establish a medical school. January 1970: The initial fundraising campaign begins. Hampton Roads is the largest metropolitan area in the nation without a medical school. September 1973: The inaugural classes of MD and art therapy students matriculate. January 1974: The school opens a family practice residency-training program to help alleviate a local physician shortage. December 1969: After opening a series of healthcare facilities, supporters establish the EVMS Foundation. January 1972: The medical school receives provisional accreditation. January 1973: Campaign concludes with $17.6 million raised, $2.6 million over goal. May 1974: The medical school s first graduates complete training in what is now known as the Graduate Art Therapy and Counseling Program.

4 February 1978: EVMS celebrates the completion of its first building and names it Lewis Hall in honor of philanthropists Sydney and Frances Lewis. September 1985: The Elise and Henry Clay Hofheimer II Hall of the Clinical Sciences (informally referred to as Hofheimer Hall) is dedicated. October 1987: What is now known as the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center opens. September 1976: EVMS graduates 23 physicians in its charter MD class. December 1981: Elizabeth Carr, the nation s first child conceived through in vitro fertilization, is born at Norfolk General Hospital under the watchful gaze of IVF pioneers Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones. September 1986: The United States Agency for International Development awards a $28 million grant to estabish CONRAD, a program of EVMS Obstetrics and Gynecology. Fall 1987: EVMS students launch Operation Overcoat, later renamed Coats for Kids, to pass along donated coats to needy children and families. It s one of dozens of outreach efforts conceived and led by students that provide assistance to others.

5 November 1990: EVMS otolaryngologists perform the region s first pediatric cochlear implant, allowing a 5-year-old Virginia Beach boy to hear for the first time. January 1999: EVMS welcomes the inaugural class of Master of Physician Assistant students. April 1999 As pioneers in the new science of proteomics, EVMS scientists seek the "fingerprint of cancer" to improve diagnosis. January 1994 EVMS is one of the first schools to begin using simulated patients. Today, EVMS is a leader in modeling and simulation through the Sentara Center for Simulation and Immersive Learning at EVMS. December 1995: A gift from Virginia Beach resident Virginia Glennan Ferguson leads to the establishment of the Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology. March 2000: The Edward E. Brickell Medical Science Library opens as a state-ofthe-art facility serving EVMS and the region. Today, it is the medical library of record for the Virginia General Assembly.

6 September 2008: CONRAD receives a $100 million grant, the largest in the school s history, from the U.S. Agency for International Development, to develop contraceptives and products to fight AIDS. September 2009: EVMS breaks ground on a new research and education building after the state, in a historic agreement, provides $59 million in support. The building opens in 2011 and is later named in honor of then-president Harry T. Lester. May 2011: EVMS celebrates its 5,000th graduate. November 2012: A gift from Macon and Joan Brock establishes the M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health at EVMS. August 2008: EVMS establishes the School of Health Professions as a measure of the importance of the school s diverse range of academic programs. July 2009: EVMS dedicates Andrews Hall, formerly known as Fairfax Hall, in memory of EVMS founders and key faculty members Mason C. Andrews, MD, and his brother, William C. Andrews, MD. January 2011: HOPES Clinic opens as the first student-run free clinic in Virginia. April 2013: Richard V. Homan, MD, Dean of the School of Medicine, becomes the first EVMS leader to serve as President and Dean after the roles are combined. Find out more about the first 40 years at